Mark Shea is Such a F***ing Liar

So-called "Catholic writer" Mark Shea hates Donald Trump with a fiery passion. This isn't just a mild dislike, but a blinding hatred which seems to force Mr.Shea into posting lies about the President.

Look, I can understand not wanting Trump to be POTUS. He's hardly my first choice. During the 2016 Presidential race, I frequently compared having to choose between Trump or Clinton to being the equivalent of deciding if you want mustard or mayo on your shit sandwich.

That being said, Shea's hatred of Trump has pushed Shea over the edge. In a recent post, Shea posted the above photo while stating "This is a bus for babies snatched away from their parents at the border by our sadistic border policies." The statement provides a link to Shea's "proof". Clicking on his link takes one to Snopes.com for a fact check, and he uses the link and photo to provide evidence that Trump is a Fascist and a racist.

First of all, the bus is not the product of Donald Trump. According to the Snopes fact check, the photograph "was featured in a 29 April 2016 Geo Group press release describing the purchase of two 'New Specialized Transport Buses' outfitted with convertible child safety seats, intended to be used to carry children ranging from ages 4 to 17 for medical treatment, to court appointments, and on monthly offsite field trips". In other words, the bus is a creation of the Obama administration.

Secondly, according to the link, the babies carried on this particular bus are not "snatched away from their parents at the border". U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) maintains a family detention facility for undocumented immigrants called the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas. The Karnes facility houses women with children, and it provides educational services (as well monthly field trips) to the school age children held there.

"Residents are provided education programming, medical care, recreation, visitation facilities, recreation, life skills/chores, study time, group interaction, free time, and access to religious and legal services. All residents of school age are offered educational services through a certified charter school. Each classroom is equipped with state-of-the-art smart-boards which allow children to interactively participate in classroom instruction. Field trips are provided monthly for all children to local parks, libraries, and other community events."

Either Shea did not read the entire article he linked to, or he has poor reading comprehension.

I wanted to leave a comment on Shea's blog to call him out on his lie and his calumny toward the President, but I'm banned from leaving comments on his blog.

The Shape of Things to Come

Some years ago, I made a pledge to myself that I would finish reading any book I began, regardless of how I may dislike the book as I went along.

For the last few years, that pledge has been easy to keep - I did, after all, read 45 books in 2017.

The total will not be nearly as high this year. Two of the books I've read this year -Alexandre Dumas' Celebrated Crimes and Marcel Proust's Swann's Way were not page turners.

Now, after reading an article written by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, I've begun reading H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come. I absolutely regret having begun this piece of drivel. I read four of Wells' novels last year and had high hopes for this one, but it has turned into a tortuous read. I can barely bring myself to finish what I've started. This particular novel dwells on Wells' socialist agenda, and none of his predictions for the future have come to pass.

Sadly, I'll continue to plow through, hopefully finishing this load of crap before much longer.

9°19'31.5"N 123°16'02.2"E

It was in a post from Feb. 2017 [Down By the Okoy River - Part Two ] that I first made mention of a new road being constructed in Magatas, Sibulan. That post was written during the very early days of construction and quite a lot has been done since then.

For one thing, the road now connects to the National Highway just south of the Okoy river bridge in Sibulan. We also know that this road - called the Diversion Road - will be, when completed, a bypass around the heavily congested areas of Dumaguete. There is talk that the road will eventually connect with the National South Road. When that day comes, it will be a Godsend to the area.

At this time, vehicles can enter the Diversion Road from the North and travel toward Dumaguete. Any traffic wishing to continue on into the city must exit onto the Magatas road and head into Camanjac. This side road will take you to Rovira Drive.

One can continue along the Diversion Road, rather than take the detour, but there will not be a proper road to exit off onto after this point. There are a few "pig trails" exiting the Diversion Road that can handle motorcycle or small car traffic - but no large trucks.

I wanted to travel the entire length of the Diversion Road to see just how far it went. Unfortunately, it comes to a complete dead-end before reaching Rovira Drive. Using an app on my mobile phone, I located the coordinates of the dead-end. - 9°19'31.5"N 123°16'02.2"E.

 I'm not able to post any new photos taken along the Diversion Road - or the dead-end. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the memory card for my digital camera was damaged and I've yet to get a replacement. The first photo in this post is a screen shot of the location of the road's dead-end in Camanjac. Google Maps does not show any section of the road as it now exists.

One photo below shows the road as it was in Feb. 2017. The final photo was taken about a month ago.

My Chat With Lazada - Part Two

In my last post, I published a transcript of my chat with a customer service rep from Lazada Philippines concerning an order which was 12 days over due.

As one can see in the transcript, I was assured that the order would arrive no later than May 22, 2018.

When the order had not arrived by the time promised, I went back online to chat with another Lazada rep to cancel my order. Following is the transcript of that chat.


Hi Robert,
Good day!

I am glad that we have to serve you. Lazada takes pride in giving priority to their customers and looking after their need. We always strive to exceed our customers’ expectations and meet arequirements [sic].

We hope that you may use this as your reference to resolve your concern to us.

This is the copy of our chat transcript for your reference.

Visitor: After having not received my order 12 days after I was notified it was shipped I contacted your customer sevice. I was told my order would arrive no later than today. It has not arrived.
I do not expect it to ever get here but if it does I will refuse to accept it. (it's COD)
This was my first order from your company and it will be my last.
Rhea - E: Hi. Welcome to Lazada Philippines live chat. My name is Rhea. Let me help you with your concern.
Rhea - E: I am sorry to hear that.
Rhea - E: May I have your order number and email address associate to Lazada account please?
Visitor: xxxxxxxxxxx
Visitor: xxxxxxxxxxx
Rhea - E: Is this for the item SanDisk Ultra SDHC Card Class 10 16GB SDSDUNB-016G 48mb/s?
Visitor: I am simply informing your company that I will refuse to accept this order if it should ever arrive. This is my first and last order from your company.
Visitor: I am completely dissatisfied
Visitor: Have a good day
Rhea - E: I understand that. We really apologize and we will take note on that.
Rhea - E: Once again, thank you for contacting Lazada Philippine chat support. Have a great day.

If you need help in the future, please feel free to contact us again should you have any further concerns. So many thanks to you for reaching Lazada Philippines. Have a great day ahead.

For more details about cancellation item, you may refer to this link

https://www.lazada.com.ph/helpcenter/how-do-i-cancel-my-order-ph.html?spm=a2o4l.other.0.0.503b6275g94n4P

Best regards,
Rhea I Customer Service I Lazada

My Chat With Lazada - Part One

In last Sunday's post I told of how I had somehow managed to damage the memory card for my digital camera and how I had ordered a replacement from a company here in Philippines.

As I was writing that post, I was chatting online with a customer service rep from Lazada. A transcript of that chat was sent to my email address. I am posting the transcript here.




 Chat transcript:

Visitor: I received an email 12 days ago telling me that my order has been shipped. It has not arrived.
John Paul - S: Thank you for contacting Lazada Philippines live chat! My name is John. Let me assist you with that concern.

John Paul - S: May I have your name to address you properly?

Visitor: Robert
John Paul - S: Hi Good morning Robert.
Visitor: By the way, my son's name is also John Paul
John Paul - S: Great! Thank you for that.
John Paul - S: May I have your order number please?
Visitor: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
John Paul - S: Thanks. SanDisk Ultra SDHC Card Class 10 16GB SDSDUNB-016G 48mb/s. Is these the item?
Visitor: yes
John Paul - S: Thanks. To further assist you with this matter, I need to check my resources first and review the order. Please stay online and I will get back to you within 1 to 2 minutes.

John Paul - S: Thank you for patiently waiting Robert, Upon checking here I'm glad to inform you that your order is now being handled by our courier and delivery will surely happen on or before May 22, 2018.

John Paul - S: Are we still connected?
Visitor: yes we are still connected
John Paul - S: Thank you for that.
Visitor: Thank you. I expect to see it by the 22nd.
Visitor: Have a good day John Paul
John Paul - S: No worries on that, Rest assured that the item will be deliver. And most of all I am so excited for you to receive the item.
John Paul - S: Is there anything else that I may help you today?

Visitor: No. thank you.
John Paul - S: May I have your most active email address?

Visitor: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
John Paul - S: Thanks. You may also track your order through our online order tracking tool which can be found on the website or can easily be accessed through this link http://www.lazada.com.ph/orderstatus/. You just need to input the order number as well as the registered e-mail address upon placing the order.

John Paul - S: It is my pleasure to serve you. A copy of our conversation will be sent to your email address as your reference. A survey will also be sent and we hope that you will answer and give us feedback on how well I have served you today. This will be our reference as we aim to provide quality service to all our customers. Thank you and have a Blessed Sunday.

Sincerely,
John l Customer Service l Lazada PH

My Last Photos

The photos in this post are the last photos taken with my digital camera. As a matter of fact, the first photo displayed here is the very last photo taken. It is given the name IMG_0838.JPG, and was taken on May 6, 2018. It is a view of the southern point of Cebu island as seen from Our Lady's Garden in Sibulan, Negros Oriental.

For several months, I have been looking for a back-up memory card for my camera. Unfortunately, I've been unable to find one in Dumaguete. Recently, friends from the United States were visiting, and I had considered asking if they could purchase a memory card for me in the States, but because I didn't actually need one at the time, I failed to ask.

On the day these photos were taken, I removed the memory card, as usual, to upload onto my PC. After uploading the photos, I somehow managed to damage the memory card. It is no longer of any use.

Of course, now I'm regretting not having asked my friend to bring a spare memory card.

After searching the Internet, I found a memory card available on an online store in Philippines. I thought the price a bit high, but I saw no other option. I ordered the card COD - for a total cost of 528 pesos.

A few days after ordering the card from Lazada, I came upon a similar memory card at a photo shop in Dumaguete - selling for over 800 pesos.

Sadly, 12 days after receiving an email telling me my item was shipped, it hasn't arrived. As I write this, I am chatting with someone with Lazada customer service. Like my son, his name is given as John Paul-S. John Paul tells me my package will arrive on or before May 22. We'll see how that works out.

VW Beetle # 26 c ,d, and e.

This red and black VW Beetle was parked in the roof-top parking area of City Mall.

I was hoping this might be a new one for me, but it turns out to be one that I spotted at the Sea Forest Resort north of Sibulan; the same place where I had originally spotted 1967 Rusty.

As this is one already catalogued, I'm labeling these photos 26 c, d, and e.